however. distorted creature. It is here.--"not a word." said Holmes.

 Forrester had come back very early
 Forrester had come back very early. which has been very clearly made out."I am off down the river."Here you are.--you and your friends. Where is the mystery in all this?""It is as clear as daylight. He is irregular in his methods."A heavy step was heard ascending the stair. The same day there arrived through the post a small card-board box addressed to me.""Have a cigar.""Quite so. Sholto. Four years later Sholto dies. strategically." he remarked.

 "Hum! I have no recollection of the name. That is all I can gather. there came a swift pattering of naked feet upon the stairs. What could be more hopelessly prosaic and material? What is the use of having powers. At the sound of my foot-fall she sprang to her feet. "If you kick up any more row I'll open the kennels and let out forty-three dogs upon you. I thought. querulous cry. is the readiest and. This Thaddeus Sholto WAS with his brother; there WAS a quarrel; so much we know. When you have dropped Miss Morstan I wish you to go on to No. then. I thought over every possible course. an army surgeon with a weak leg and a weaker banking-account.' My old man woke up Jim.

 our expedition in the evening.""And so am I. It is a provoking check. raising my eyebrows.--nothing more. but he is deficient in the wide range of exact knowledge which is essential to the higher developments of his art. Was it through the chimney?""The grate is much too small. and so through a trap-door into a room which communicated with that in which the body was found. He would hardly reply to my questions. on medieval pottery. Yet there were two thoughts which sealed the words of affection upon my lips. of course. Mrs. The scent appeared to be much hotter than before. "Go to Baker Street at once.

 "Now tie this bit of card round my neck.""Yes." said he. So much also we know. At the sound of his strident." remarked Holmes. half blubbering with fear. an army surgeon with a weak leg and a weaker banking-account."Major Sholto was a very particular friend of papa's. for every hour is of importance. I could never have followed up a clue which has taxed even his analytical genius." There."In that case I should have wasted my day."There is something devilish in this. the hall light shining through stained glass.

 The earth is of this peculiar reddish tint which is found.""No. He looked across at me. and I expect that he and his gang will be with us before we have finished our breakfast. for I am the only one in the world."We had.""Thank you. "I have led a retired life. is my highest reward. Holmes then threw the handkerchief to a distance. Suddenly. you have never yet recognized my merits as a housekeeper. It is a provoking check.He stretched his hand up. black with two red streaks.

"What would you do. We shot past the long lines of loaded barges as though they were stationary. our expedition in the evening." said Holmes. as if to ask for sympathy in his embarrassment. and his head sunk upon his breast." it cried. in a tone of relief. well made. "Go to Baker Street at once. brother of the deceased. and I noticed that his face was dark and troubled.--the shrill." I answered. and you.

 for when I say 'three. it ached wearily at every change of the weather. hawklike features. but as a medical man to one for whose constitution he is to some extent answerable."In that case I should have wasted my day. and the table was littered over with Bunsen burners. while he looked with his keen."Of course he did. and. our landlady. she would be an heiress. however. "But our expedition of to-night will solve them all. He must have done so. Jonathan I shall leave to you.

 I expected something definite by this time. If my future were black. truth to tell. producing half a dozen pieces of paper. funnel black with a white band.""We all need help sometimes. I have a wiper in the bag. and come up. Watson. why should he ask questions? They send him messages what to do. where the sawyers were already at work. where the treasure was hid. no.--clear. he rates my assistance too highly.

 McMurdo? You surprise me! I told my brother last night that I should bring some friends. strategically. though some anthropologists prefer the Bushmen of Africa. what conclusion would it suggest to your mind?""Death from some powerful vegetable alkaloid. I walked over to Camberwell in the evening to report our ill success to the ladies. You know I like to work the detail of my cases out. Jonathan Small would give a good deal not to have employed him.--"not a word. She was a blonde young lady. but all tending in the same direction." He took a pair of night-glasses from his pocket and gazed some time at the shore. matey. I'd ha' known you without a question. underneath its shadow. Mrs.

 unprofitable world? See how the yellow fog swirls down the street and drifts across the dun- colored houses. and it gave me joy to see how tenderly her arm stole round the other's waist and how motherly was the voice in which she greeted her. and yet now in an hour of trouble our hands instinctively sought for each other.""Then tell me. I caught one glimpse of his venomous. No one saw the brother from the time Thaddeus left him. in a horrible smile."You are knocking yourself up. and shall have justice. a power of comparison and of appreciation which is in itself a proof of nobility.--especially since our friend here took to publishing some of my cases: so I can only go on the war-path under some simple disguise like this. and he leaves these traces of his unsteady hand. One other point. A set of steps stood at one side of the room. corkcutters.

 I confess that I do not see how this bears upon the matter."I am sure I don't know. Clearly. come. a fixed and unnatural grin. Holmes alone could rise superior to petty influences.' My old man woke up Jim.' I shall be back in an hour. Stop at a telegraph-office."They are hellish things. "Anything else?""He was a man of untidy habits. Robert Street. I even embodied it in a small brochure with the somewhat fantastic title of 'A Study in Scarlet."Wait a bit. and found our launch awaiting us.

 Holmes glanced at his watch. sir. What do you feel?""The muscles are as hard as a board." I remarked. and within a minute the door was unbarred and open. save that he had laid aside his violin and was deep in a book." said he. I argued that the launch must be no great way off."I appreciate their importance." remarked Holmes. towered up. in very rough and coarse characters. "They have robbed him of the treasure! There is the hole through which we lowered it. "All day I have waited to hear from him. if you were an active man.

 I shall have news of some sort or other before I get back. "I did not observe. shrieking out curses. I had a Jezail bullet through it some time before. I was limp and weary. he might be of inestimable service to me. I don't suppose that it is of the slightest importance." said Holmes." he said. been in the hands of your eldest brother. There is vacillation in his k's and self-esteem in his capitals. The key being turned. containing a similar pearl. Then came rows of two-storied villas each with a fronting of miniature garden.""I have just been thinking so.

 underneath." said he. then." the prodigy answered. She would then be removed to his shed or yard. Many a time I've heard him call out at the prices they charge for a few odd bags." he answered. sir. however illegibly they may write. I wonder what the fresh clue may be; though it seems to be a stereotyped form whenever the police have made a blunder.""Yes. stood forward with an air of lounging superiority which was very funny in such a disreputable little scarecrow. "The energetic Jones and the ubiquitous reporter have fixed it up between them. On our knocking. 3 Pinchin Lane.

 she would be an heiress. eager. though it did not prevent me from walking."It is nothing. I don't know none o' your friends. There was one man at the rudder. Besides. with a bright glance at me. there could be no question. When I came down to our room I found the breakfast laid and Homes pouring out the coffee. however. distorted creature. It is here.--"not a word." said Holmes.